Google (GOOG) prides itself on not being “evil.” But is it just a tiny bit evil to keep shareholders in the dark about why CEO Larry Page is missing some key events this month and next?

Page was not present at the company‘s shareholder meeting last week. Google chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt said it was because Page had lost his voice. Schmidt added that Page will not attend this week’s developer-focused I/O conference and will also not take part in Google’s second quarter earnings call with analysts in July.

That kind of cryptic announcement can make tech investors nervous. Apple set a dangerous precedent, disclosing very little detail about Steve Jobs‘ health battles and only informing the public after the fact in August 2004 that Jobs had undergone surgery following a cancer diagnosis. Although Apple has continued to thrive following Steve Jobs’ death last October, investors worried for years about Jobs’ health and succession plans — while the company stayed fairly silent on those points.

Google’s stock has lagged the broader market and tech rivals Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) this year. Shares are down 13% in 2012. Heck, Google has even fared worse than Yahoo (YHOO), a company that has been a turnaround story for a decade and is now on its 7th CEO since 2001.

Now, there is absolutely nothing to suggest that Page is suffering from a serious illness. But wouldn’t it behoove the company to learn from the mistakes that Apple made and more directly address the situation? A spokesperson from Google simply said that Page has lost his voice and “can’t do any public speaking engagements for the time being” and that Page “will, of course, continue to run the company and he will be involved in all the strategic business decisions we make.”